Benavidez Confident About Beating Gvozdyk – ‘I’m Hitting Harder’

David Benavidez feels strong ahead of his fight with Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June 15. 

The Mexican Monster has his first fight at the weight class, having moved up from 168. Benavidez failed to make the Canelo Alvarez fight, preventing him from getting the undisputed title shot. Now, he will box Gvozdyk for the WBC Interim Light Heavyweight Title. The winner puts themselves in a mandatory position for the winner of Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

They will fight for the Undisputed Light Heavyweight Title once Beterbiev returns. That would leave Benavidez with a decision to make. He could either pursue undisputed at 168 or decide to get his shot at 175. The current rules prevent boxers from having interim titles in different weight classes. A win over Canelo would be bigger, given that they are Mexicans. But facing Bivol or Beterbiev is equally dangerous since they are currently undefeated, unlike Canelo. 

Benavidez Reacts

Benavidez developed a reputation for stopping guys at 168. He has seven stoppages out of his last eight fights. Caleb Plant was the only boxer he did not stop, as he won a unanimous decision. His current record is 28 win, with 24 KOs. At 175, however, Benavidez will face heavier hitters. But it also allows him to increase his power, knowing he will not have to lose weight. Based on his current preparation, he was confident about his chances. 

“On fight week, you only lose a couple of pounds. I’m going to be extremely ready, extremely motivated, and well conditioned,…We’re going to try and get a better knockout for this fight. I’m 100% ready. I did my 30-day weigh-in last week. 188. 13 pounds, so I’m very close, very happy. I’m hitting harder [at 175]. I feel like people haven’t seen the best of me. At 175, I’ll be able to showcase the best David Benavidez. I still have a lot to prove to myself. I’m not done,” Benavidez said 

Benavidez has previously spoken about sparring well against bigger guys. He recalled sparring with Bivol, who is the current WBA Light Heavyweight Champion. Bivol is undefeated, having also gotten the better of Canelo Alvarez. He is known for having a good defense and high boxing IQ.

Benavidez On Bivol

While that may be the case, Benavidez recalled stopping Bivol in sparring. Sparring must be taken with a pinch of salt since fighters will work on different things depending on the stage of their training camp. There is also a tendency for fighters to exaggerate what happened in sparring. But based on his following comments, Benavidez will fancy his chances of a stoppage. 

“I know a lot of people have seen videos of me saying I can knock out Bivol. And I really can. I sparred with Bivol at Churchill Boxing. And a lot of people have seen that. And they know what happened there. You can ask the witnesses,” Benavidez stated